


eyes on the crown (all this and more)

by princepixel



Category: 3YE (Korea Band)
Genre: Abstract, Alternate Universe - Mob, Angst, Betrayal, F/F, Gangs, Implied Murder, Knives, POV Multiple, Snapshots, based off the queen mv, just three hot female gang leaders in suits move along, literary devices, mafia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:55:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25155847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princepixel/pseuds/princepixel
Summary: there's only room for one Queen in this empire, and yuji will do anything to ensure that the crown falls into her hands-- no matter how bloodstained they may become.even at the cost of the two girls she once trusted with her life.
Relationships: Park Yurim & Son Yuji, Park Yurim & Son Yuji & Yoon Ha Eun, Park Yurim & Yoon Ha Eun, Park Yurim/Son Yuji/Yoon Ha Eun, Son Yuji & Yoon Ha Eun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	eyes on the crown (all this and more)

**Author's Note:**

> hello i'm aware that there is absolutely zero market for this but i was ~Inspired~ to write after picking apart the storyline for the queen mv so this is for Me but in case anyone happens here i hope you like it <3 stan 3ye !!!

the wind whistles softly as yuji sits back in her chair, immaculately manicured fingernails tapping rhythmically against dark mahogany wood. hints of a satisfied smile playing on her face, she tugs open a drawer to retrieve a fresh stick of incense. underneath the box lies an innocent looking envelope, ornate wax seal still unbroken.

yuji's gaze rakes across the room. billowing white curtains, silky to the touch, brush against intricate gold vases and porcelain dishes. yuji knows that to her left, behind the false bookshelf, lies a small room with several of her finest weapons mounted to the wall-- minus one.

her gold plated lighter flicks on. yuji watches smoke curl into the air as she places the incense into a holder with two others. three is a nice number. her fingers trail once more over the unmarked envelope, gently peeling it out of the drawer and laying it flat on the desk. she doesn't need to open it.

she already knows the Queen is dead.

♛ ♕ ♛

haeun doesn't trust anyone.

it's difficult-- dangerous, even-- to trust in this line of work. haeun knows this, and yet there are some alliances that must be maintained for the sake of keeping the empire running smoothly.

it doesn't mean she has to be happy about it, though.

they're kneeling in a neat row in front of the Former Queen's sleek coffin, heads bowed in respect. they aren't supposed to look at the coffin, just as they were not to make eye contact with the Former Queen when she ruled over the empire. it wasn't their place, even as her right hand women.

yuji's eyes keep flickering up.

haeun bites her lip. her fingers subconsciously find the crumpled letter in her back pocket, the letter that called them all here. it burns.

to haeun's left, yurim's long blue hair cascades over her shoulders as she dips her head. there's a certain line of tension stringing along her shoulders, a sorrow embedded under her pretty eyes. her aura is somber in a way that yuji's is chillingly bare of.

the air hangs thickly as they gather in the Former Queen's abandoned office after the ceremony, fraught with an emotion haeun can never quite place. it stings her eyes, creeps under her tongue, scrapes against her teeth.

yuji looks far too comfortable lounging on the seat closest to the Former Queen's throne. perhaps she assumed no one noticed the way she stopped just a few steps too close to the throne, the desire in her frame before she remembered she was not alone, the annoyed slump of her shoulders as she turned away from the velvet cushions, but haeun has always had a good eye for reading people.

"where do we go from here?" yurim folds her hands neatly in her lap, as calm as could be. her voice is rainfall to haeun's ears, all fairy gardens and bubbling brooks. yurim eyes them with a polite smile. it's a carefully crafted expression-- one that might be just a little too sharp at the edges, but does not betray any distrust she may harbor. smart girl.

"we've been managing our independent sections of the empire well enough for many years. i don't see why anything has to change." haeun evaluates both girls in front of her, waiting for a crack in their facades. yuji's eyes glint in interest, an amused glow ringing her irises.

"i believe our best course of action at the moment is to continue our usual activities. i will continue organizing our finances and the businesses under our jurisdiction, yurim will continue to be our eyes on the ground through the religious and traditional aspects of the empire while remaining a false mouthpiece for the people, and yuji will continue to ensure that our weapons deals and assassin's guild function smoothly. we can operate separately while uniting under the same crown, just as we always have."

there's a plea hidden deep within, shrouded by so many layers of false niceties and fleeting touches that haeun is barely aware it lurks within her tone, but it's there-- a desperate desire for them to stay as they always have been, a trio with far too many lipstick stains and even more secrets.

"that sounds wonderful, haeun darling," yuji crosses her legs, leaning forward as one eyebrow quirks up. with the flushed light of the setting sun illuminating her from behind, slanting across her crimson red suit and framing her dark hair as it curls around her chin, she looks ethereal. one glossy nail, embossed with a golden crown, swipes across her pretty lips. she rubs away the ruby red lipstick between two fingers, "but every empire needs a Queen to look up to, don't you think?"

♛ ♕ ♛

yurim's silver butterfly earrings twinkle in the natural light that falls from her open windows. ashy blue hair tucked neatly into a bun at the back of her head, she hums softly to herself as she pours out another cup of chamomile tea. the liquid burns against her tongue, but it's a welcome sensation drawing her thoughts away from the uncertainty fringing her future. she can only placate the people with her religious traditions and sugary sweet words for so long until they start to notice the uneasy shift in the empire.

the shrill ringing of her antique phone jolts her from her thoughts, and she reaches for the smooth handle. "haeun." she greets without hearing the caller's voice. it's a certain feeling in her chest, one that is charged with something unknown as it brushes over the chambers of her heart.

"yurim." haeun's deep, honey voice flows across the line.

"and to what do i owe the pleasure of hearing your voice today?" yurim lifts a perfectly painted teacup to her lips. haeun never calls without some request or another.

there's a few seconds of silence before haeun answers, voice a little thicker than before. "yurim, we have to do something about yuji. i have reason to believe she wants to usurp the Former Queen's throne and seize the empire for herself."

yurim sets down the teacup a little harder than necessary, sloshing hot liquid over her hand. she hisses low enough that the receiver can't pick it up, but composes herself before speaking, "i see. why do you think that?"

"didn't you notice her unwillingness to work together when we met after the ceremony? and before we left, i saw the letter in her back pocket. it wasn't even opened." haeun swallows hard. "and last night, i discovered from one of my employees that i am being...monitored."

yurim sits up ramrod straight, glossy fingernails of fear prickling across the nape of her neck. "what? what happened?"

"nothing drastic yet, just some imperceptibly tampered with locks and a stray footprint outside my office. i don't know if there's been a hit put out on me, since, you know, that's yuji's area of expertise. i assume i wouldn't get answers even if i asked."

"that's a quite serious accusation, haeun. you know that, right?" yurim's fingers tighten around the receiver.

"you don't think she's dangerous? you don't think she's powerful enough, ambitious enough, drunk enough on power to try to take us out?" haeun's voice edges on desperate, and yurim bites her lip at the vulnerability bleeding through, "i know this is serious. if we don't do something, she will topple our entire society and rebuild it in her name. this isn't like old times. she doesn't need us, she doesn't want us. yurim, are you with me?"

yurim's gaze drifts to the window. flanked by traditional rose covered screens, the pale wood of the windowsill is home to many delicate figurines and vivid flower blooms. beyond the window, cherry blossom trees sway in the whistling wind. yurim watches as a bird soars past the window, and plummets from the sky.

"i'll call you back, haeun."

♛ ♕ ♛

yuji knows haeun doesn't trust anyone, especially not yuji herself. she always knew haeun would be the toughest nut to crack, the biggest obstacle in her way.

there was a time, once, where they would find solace in each other, discovering that their beating hearts often pulsed to the same rhythm, a singular tempo tying their souls together. it seems those sleepless nights and youthful days have passed them by, as yuji can no longer feel haeun's heartbeat in her own fingertips.

haeun was always too perceptive for her own good, harboring an ambition that nearly rivaled yuji's own. yurim, sweet yurim, was always more content to sit back and watch the world crumble while not a strand of hair wavered on her head.

yuji almost wishes things didn't have to be this way-- almost.

"haeun seems on edge these days, doesn't she?" yuji rests her chin in her hands, gaze boring into yurim's eyes. yurim's long eyelashes flutter, the slight narrowing of her eyes telling yuji all she needs to know.

"why do you think that?" the sentence sounds aged and worn in yurim's mouth.

yuji sighs as she lifts a briefcase to the table, holding back a grin at the way yurim's pretty almond eyes widen in interest. "let's cut to the chase, shall we? i know that haeun is conspiring against me." yurim sucks in a breath, a miniscule fracture in her poker face that yuji relishes in. "oh, don't fret, darling, i'm willing to look past any involvement you may or may not have had with her plans as long as you show me your loyalty."

yurim sits back in her chair, expression carefully schooled to be stony and unimpressed. she juts her chin up, the flower pin in her hair glittering as she levels yuji with a challenging glare. "you wouldn't be blackmailing me, now would you, yuji _darling_?"

yuji manages a bittersweet smile at the venom in the last word. "why, of course not. all i'm asking is a simple service, call it a favor to a dear old friend. and," yuji flicks up the closures of the briefcase, cracking it open a bit, "it's a job that will pay handsomely."

despite the slight suspicion tinging her irises, yurim leans forward to nudge the case open further. her eyebrows rise at the large stacks of money within, not needing more than one glance to know the bills are all real. yuji would not be so much of a fool.

conflict passes across yurim’s face, something akin to concern flashing on her features for a mere second. "you won't harm her, will you?"

"of course not." the words crackle with a feeling yuji can't quite place as they pass her lips. she swallows down the bitter tang of copper and metal. yurim's expression evens out and she dips her head, latching the briefcase before pulling it to her side. when she makes eye contact with yuji, she doesn't falter even once.

"i'm listening."

yurim leaves, and yuji is left alone with the whistling wind and the billowing curtains and the glittering gold. absentmindedly, she tracks the trails of smoke from the sticks of incense as they drift across the room. the three elegant rods clasped in the holder look so pretty together. with a wry grin, she plucks two of the sticks out, snaps them in half, and tosses them into the trash.

three is a nice number indeed, but yuji knows that only one is necessary to fill a room with smoke.

♛ ♕ ♟

something is wrong.

haeun can feel it in the shimmer of yurim's eyes, the white spreading across her knuckles as she grips the steering wheel harder and harder. in the backseat, haeun attempts to make eye contact with her through the rearview mirror. yurim stoutly avoids her, gaze flickering back and forth across the road.

haeun has always had a good eye for reading people, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be blinded by the fond glow in her chest of rose tinted memories.

"and you're sure these allies couldn't meet us at a more reasonable time?" haeun slings one leg over the other, peering out the window into the inky night sky. her watch blinks close to midnight.

"yes." the clipped answer does nothing to quell the unease building in haeun's chest.

haeun huffs as the car makes an abrupt right, into a shadowy area she couldn't even see from the narrow, barren road. mounds of dark dirt loom in front of them, dotted in places by construction equipment. dim street lamps, sparsely littered throughout the zone, bathe swathes of land in a cold blue light.

"this isn't where we agreed to meet." haeun can feel tremors of terror work their way into her voice. somewhere deep in her chest, a dream from long ago, of three joined hands and three bright smiles, crumbles to ash. "yurim, what's going on?"

yurim turns around, and haeun has just a second to process the guilt swimming in her gaze before the window next to her head shatters.

"i'm sorry, haeun."

haeun lifts an arm over her face in shock, hissing at the shards of glass scraping the exposed flesh. she fumbles for the knife slung around her waist, but doesn't have time before she's yanked out of the car, elbow twisting painfully behind her.

normally haeun is an adept fighter, despite her role in the empire largely being a desk job. however, combining the element of surprise with devastating heartbreak is enough to fell even the finest of warriors.

she hooks a foot around her attacker's ankle, snapping her leg forward in hopes of toppling them. it's enough to knock them off balance, but the additional hands emerging from the shadows render the maneuver futile.

haeun has just enough time as a cloth is pressed to her mouth to hear yurim's muffled screams.

♟ ♕ ♟

when the darkness melts away from her vision, all haeun sees is red-- ruby red lips, a crimson red suit, vermillion red blood.

yuji smirks as she steps into the cool wash of light. she advances toward haeun slowly, confidently, like she knows haeun will never escape no matter how much she struggles against the rope binding her to the chair.

"oh, haeun, _darling_. what a mess this is, hm?"

haeun hates it. she hates that she can feel her heart, still yearning for the days of innocent folded notes and fingertips brushing in passing, cracking in her chest. she hates that even as yuji draws the knife from haeun's own waist-- because of _course_ she'd remember haeun's old habits-- she still can't bring herself to hate son yuji.

haeun grits her teeth and locks gazes with yuji. her eyes narrow as she channels all the venom and defiance she can muster, but she knows the hurt she feels is thinly veiled. she breaks eye contact first as light glints off an object to her right-- a shovel, propped up between two empty graves.

haeun's fists clench at her sides as images of ashy blue hair matted with blood flash through her mind.

yuji presses one hand into haeun's shoulder, looming over her. strands of jet black hair shield her eyes as she brings the knife up, laying the flat side of the cool metal to the flushed skin of haeun's neck.

"you should've known better than to mess with the empire's Reborn Queen, don't you think?"

haeun licks her lips as the knife traces pretty patterns along her clavicle, trailing up to her throat. she can finally put a name to it, the emotion battering the roof of her mouth and crawling into her lungs.

"fuck you."

it tastes an awful lot like betrayal.

♕

this time, there is no trepidation to be masked in her posture as yuji strolls toward her throne.

she brushes out some leftover dirt from underneath one of her glossy fingernails and taps it against the sleek wood of her new desk. with a satisfied sigh, she sits back as a single stick of incense smolders quietly in its holder.

sometimes it almost looks like two figures are lounging in the couches in front of her, leftover ghosts from a fateful evening of black coffins and wax seals and false alliances and empty promises.

yuji blinks. they're gone, but there's a throbbing behind her eyes that threatens to weaken the smile on her face. the wind whistling outside the window creeps through the cracks in the glass and underneath the billowing curtains, and the room feels colder than ever. her lips tingle with broken vows and shattered hearts, and she swallows down an emotion that feels just out of reach.

it tastes an awful lot like guilt, but yuji has fought for this crown, and she will wear it with pride no matter how bloodstained it may be.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading !! let me know what you thought ^____^
> 
> twitter: [pixeljunnie](https://twitter.com/pixeljunnie)  
> curiouscat: [pixinoa](https://curiouscat.me/pixinoa)


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